It was Avesh Khan's off day against Hong Kong: Nikhil Chopra

On Wednesday, August 31, India defeated Hong Kong to secure a place in the Super Four of the Asia Cup 2022. India took the top spot in the points table by defeating Pakistan in their first game of Group A, and with the second win, the Men in Blue moved to the next stage. They will now face the winner of Pakistan vs Hong Kong on Sunday, September 4, in the Super Four fixture.

Though India won against Hong Kong, the young bowlers in the team- Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan conceded a lot of runs, and the latter was the pick of the day for the opposition batters. Avesh Khan leaked 53 runs in his four-overs quota, while Arshdeep Singh was hit for 44 runs during his spell as both the pacers picked up a wicket each.

While speaking on BatBricks7 Presents Run Ki Runneeti show on CricTracker, Nikhil Chopra mentioned how he felt that Avesh Khan was looking to try something new but the plan did not fall in place and as a result he ended up conceding so many runs.

“You see 53 runs have been given away and if you look at his boundaries five fours and four sixes, I think the length that he is trying to hit, the mentality behind that, the field setting not falling in place, was he trying to do something different? Usually, we see that he bowls the slower balls very well and tries to focus on the back of the length,” said Chopra

I am more interested in the comeback delivery after being hit for a boundary: Chopra

Avesh Khan’s performance against Pakistan was also decent, as he bowled just two overs, giving away 19 runs and taking a wicket in the process. But his economy in both the games has been worrisome. Being in the side with senior and experienced players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, it’ll be a learning process for the youngster as he moves forward.

“But for me, I am more interested in the comeback delivery that he bowls after being hit for a boundary. I like to see where the bowler aims to deliver the ball after being smacked for a boundary off his previous delivery. Just like the betters have an off day it was Avesh Khan's off day against Hong Kong. Probably he must be trying something,” Chopra added.